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The Utah Highway Patrol is sending 40 troopers to Washington, D.C., to provide security at President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration later this month.
The group is the only police detail from the state participating in the Jan. 20 event, said Utah's Fraternal Order of Police President Brent Jex. Salt Lake City police, West Valley City police and the Utah County Sheriff's Office — some of the larger law enforcement agencies in Utah — were not invited this year.
The chosen patrols often change with incoming administrations, though this will be the third presidential inauguration UHP personnel have attended, including the 2009 and 2013 ceremonies for President Barack Obama.
"It's a duty," Jex said. "We don't focus on the politics of it."
Utah's troopers will be stationed along the parade route, said UHP Sgt. Todd Royce, to monitor the crowds and respond should there be any threats to safety.
UHP administrators selected the group of 40 before the Nov. 8 election to keep the focus on the task and not the candidate, Royce said. Though officers can opt out, none has since Trump's win.
"In the mind of a lot of troopers, it doesn't matter who's elected," Royce said. "We go to represent the state."
The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia — which is footing the bill for time, flight and hotel rooms for the UHP detail — will deputize the troopers, Royce said, giving them "full police powers and jurisdiction" in the nation's capital.
"It's a pretty good honor for us," Royce added, noting that he did not have an estimated total for the group's expenses.
Jex believes covering the inauguration is "good experience working those larger crowds" for Utah officers. He says it also creates goodwill if Utah ever needed police assistance in the future, as it did during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
"[It's] the ability for us to reach out and help people on the other side of the country," he said. "We know that we could call them up and get the same in return from them."
UHP has about 480 troopers stationed throughout Utah, Royce said. The agency sends different groups to the inauguration ceremonies each time to give all interested officers a chance to serve at the event.
Twitter: @CourtneyLTanner